Notification for pre-announced discount offer

ABSTRACT

An online system receives a discount offer from a merchant and displays the offer to a user before the offer&#39;s start time. The online system also defines one or more triggering conditions and sends a notification to remind the user about the discount offer when a triggering condition is satisfied. One of the triggering conditions can be based on whether the user has accessed a web page provided by the merchant. The merchant system provides a web page that sends an indication to the online system when the user accesses the web page. After receiving the indication, the online system sends a notification about the discount offer to the user. Sending the notification in this manner has the effect of reminding the user of the discount offer after the user has already expressed an interest in the merchant and its products by viewing the merchant web page.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to providing discount offers on anonline system, and more specifically to providing a notification toremind of a user of a discount offer that was first displayed to theuser before the discount became valid.

Many online systems display content from third-party merchants alongsidecontent that was generated on the online system. Displaying merchantcontent on an online system gives rise to several benefits for themerchants, the users of the online system, and the online system itself.For instance, it gives a merchant a platform to promote itself or itsproducts and possibly increase its sales as a result, it provides anadditional source of content that users of the online system may findinteresting, and it may provide a revenue stream for the online system.

Ordinarily, the merchant content that is displayed on an online systemsimply includes graphics or text promoting the merchant. Conventionalmerchant content provides no opportunities for users to engage with themerchant and often fails to provide a compelling reason for a user topurchase something with the merchant. As a result, many users simplyscroll past merchant content without paying much attention to it when itis displayed to them by the online system.

SUMMARY

An online system receives discount offers from merchants and displaysthose discount offers to users. A discount offer is a content itemprovided by a merchant that offers a user a discount that is valid for alimited time period. The user can redeem the discount by completing apurchase with the merchant while the discount is valid. Because adiscount offer presents the user with an opportunity to save money on apurchase with the merchant, a discount offer gives the user a strongerincentive to view products that can be purchased from the merchant andto follow through with a purchase.

One type of discount offer that the online system can provide is apre-announced discount offer. A pre-announced discount offer is adiscount offer that the online system displays to users before thediscount offer's offer start time (i.e., the time at which the discountbecomes valid and redeemable). In other words, a pre-announced discountoffer is a discount offer whose redemption period starts in the future,even though it is displayed and can be saved by the user beforehand. Theonline system receives the pre-announced discount offer from a merchantsystem and sends the discount offer for display to a user. The user cansave the pre-announced discount offer but cannot redeem it prior to theoffer start time. The online system also defines one or more triggeringconditions and sends a notification to remind the user about thepre-announced discount offer when a triggering condition is satisfied.

One of the triggering conditions can be satisfied when user accesses aweb page provided by the merchant after saving a pre-announced discountoffer provided by the merchant. The merchant system provides a web pagethat sends an indication to the online system when the user accesses theweb page (e.g., via a web beacon or tracking pixel). After receiving theindication, the online system sends a notification about thepre-announced discount offer to the user. Sending the notification inthis manner has the effect of reminding the user of the pre-announceddiscount offer after the user has already expressed an interest in themerchant and its products by viewing the merchant web page.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system environment in which an onlinesystem operates, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an online system, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is an illustration of a first type of discount offer, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2C is an illustration of a second type of discount offer, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram illustrating a method for sending auser a notification of a pre-announced discount offer, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram illustrating a method for providing avariable-start discount offer with a start time defined by a userimpression, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention forpurposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of a system environment 100 for anonline system 140. The system environment 100 shown by FIG. 1 comprisesone or more client devices 110, a network 120, one or more merchantsystems 130, and the online system 140. In alternative configurations,different and/or additional components may be included in the systemenvironment 100.

The client devices 110 are one or more computing devices capable ofreceiving user input as well as transmitting and/or receiving data viathe network 120. In one embodiment, a client device 110 is aconventional computer system, such as a desktop or laptop computer.Alternatively, a client device 110 may be a device having computerfunctionality, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobiletelephone, a smartphone or another suitable device. A client device 110is configured to communicate via the network 120. In one embodiment, aclient device 110 executes an application allowing a user of the clientdevice 110 to interact with the online system 140. For example, a clientdevice 110 executes a browser application to enable interaction betweenthe client device 110 and the online system 140 via the network 120. Inanother embodiment, a client device 110 interacts with the online system140 through an application programming interface (API) running on anative operating system of the client device 110, such as IOS® orANDROID™.

The client devices 110 are configured to communicate via the network120, which may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide areanetworks, using both wired and/or wireless communication systems. In oneembodiment, the network 120 uses standard communications technologiesand/or protocols. For example, the network 120 includes communicationlinks using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, LTE, codedivision multiple access (CDMA), digital subscriber line (DSL), etc.Examples of networking protocols used for communicating via the network120 include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transport protocol(HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and file transfer protocol(FTP). Data exchanged over the network 120 may be represented using anysuitable format, such as hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensiblemarkup language (XML). In some embodiments, all or some of thecommunication links of the network 120 may be encrypted using anysuitable technique or techniques.

One or more merchant systems 130 may be coupled to the network 120 forcommunicating with the client devices 110 and the online system 140,which is further described below in conjunction with FIG. 2A. In oneembodiment, a merchant system 130 is a system that facilitates onlinepurchases. For instance, the merchant system 130 performs tasks such asproviding a web site (or a dedicated application executing on a clientdevice 110) that displays products for sale and provides an interfacefor purchasing those products online, tracking inventory for products,and generating discount offers that allow customers to redeem discountson purchases made through the merchant system 130. As referred toherein, the products that can be purchased through a merchant system 130can include any sort of goods or services, including physical goods(e.g., clothing, shoes, electronics), digital goods (e.g., downloadablesoftware applications, application-specific purchases such as in-gamecurrency or access to paid features in an otherwise free application),subscriptions (e.g., magazines and newspapers, access tosubscription-based electronic services such as NETFLIX, AMAZON PRIME,and XBOX LIVE), and real-world services (e.g., music lessons,ridesharing services such as LYFT and UBER).

FIG. 2A is an example block diagram of an architecture of the onlinesystem 140. The online system 140 shown in FIG. 2A includes a userprofile store 205, a content store 210, an action logger 215, an actionlog 220, an edge store 225, a discount offer module 230, and a webserver 240. In other embodiments, the online system 140 may includeadditional, fewer, or different components for various applications.Conventional components such as network interfaces, security functions,load balancers, failover servers, management and network operationsconsoles, and the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details ofthe system architecture.

Each user of the online system 140 is associated with a user profile,which is stored in the user profile store 205. A user profile includesdeclarative information about the user that was explicitly shared by theuser and may also include profile information inferred by the onlinesystem 140. In one embodiment, a user profile includes multiple datafields, each describing one or more attributes of the corresponding userof the online system 140. Examples of information stored in a userprofile include biographic, demographic, and other types of descriptiveinformation, such as work experience, educational history, gender,hobbies or preferences, location and the like. A user profile may alsostore other information provided by the user, for example, images orvideos. In certain embodiments, images of users may be tagged withidentification information of users of the online system 140 displayedin an image. A user profile in the user profile store 205 may alsomaintain references to actions by the corresponding user performed oncontent items in the content store 210 and stored in the action log 220.

While user profiles in the user profile store 205 are frequentlyassociated with individuals, allowing individuals to interact with eachother via the online system 140, user profiles may also be stored forentities such as businesses or organizations. This allows an entity toestablish a presence on the online system 140 for connecting andexchanging content with other online system users. The entity may postinformation about itself, about its products or provide otherinformation to users of the online system using a brand page associatedwith the entity's user profile. Other users of the online system mayconnect to the brand page to receive information posted to the brandpage or to receive information from the brand page. A user profileassociated with the brand page may include information about the entityitself, providing users with background or informational data about theentity.

The content store 210 stores objects that each represent various typesof content. Examples of content represented by an object include a pagepost, a status update, a photograph, a video, a link, a shared contentitem, a gaming application achievement, a check-in event at a localbusiness, a brand page, or any other type of content. Online systemusers may create objects stored by the content store 210, such as statusupdates, photos tagged by users to be associated with other objects inthe online system, events, groups or applications. In some embodiments,objects are received from third-party applications or third-partyapplications separate from the online system 140. For example, discountoffers are received from a merchant system 130 and stored as objects inthe content store 210. In one embodiment, objects in the content store210 represent single pieces of content, or content “items.” Hence, usersof the online system 140 are encouraged to communicate with each otherby posting text and content items of various types of media throughvarious communication channels. This increases the amount of interactionof users with each other and increases the frequency with which usersinteract within the online system 140.

The action logger 215 receives communications about user actionsinternal to and/or external to the online system 140, populating theaction log 220 with information about user actions. Examples of actionsinclude adding a connection to another user, sending a message toanother user, uploading an image, reading a message from another user,viewing content associated with another user, attending an event postedby another user, among others. In addition, a number of actions mayinvolve an object and one or more particular users, so these actions areassociated with those users as well and stored in the action log 220.

The action log 220 may be used by the online system 140 to track useractions on the online system 140, as well as actions on merchant systems130 that communicate information to the online system 140. Users mayinteract with various objects on the online system 140, and informationdescribing these interactions are stored in the action log 210. Examplesof interactions with objects include: commenting on posts, sharinglinks, and checking-in to physical locations via a mobile device,accessing content items, and any other interactions. Additional examplesof interactions with objects on the online system 140 that are includedin the action log 220 include: commenting on a photo album,communicating with a user, establishing a connection with an object,joining an event to a calendar, joining a group, creating an event,authorizing an application, using an application, expressing apreference for an object (“liking” the object) and engaging in atransaction. Additionally, the action log 220 may record a user'sinteractions with advertisements on the online system 140 as well aswith other applications operating on the online system 140. In someembodiments, data from the action log 220 is used to infer interests orpreferences of a user, augmenting the interests included in the user'suser profile and allowing a more complete understanding of userpreferences.

The action log 220 may also store user actions taken on a merchantsystem 130, such as an external website, and communicated to the onlinesystem 140. For example, an e-commerce website that primarily sellssporting equipment at bargain prices may recognize a user of an onlinesystem 140 through a social plug-in enabling the e-commerce website toidentify the user of the online system 140. Because users of the onlinesystem 140 are uniquely identifiable, e-commerce websites, such as thissporting equipment retailer, may communicate information about a user'sactions outside of the online system 140 to the online system 140 forassociation with the user. Hence, the action log 220 may recordinformation about actions users perform on a merchant system 130,including webpage viewing histories, advertisements that were engaged,purchases made, and other patterns from shopping and buying.

In one embodiment, an edge store 225 stores information describingconnections between users and other objects on the online system 140 asedges. Some edges may be defined by users, allowing users to specifytheir relationships with other users. For example, users may generateedges with other users that parallel the users' real-life relationships,such as friends, co-workers, partners, and so forth. Other edges aregenerated when users interact with objects in the online system 140,such as expressing interest in a page on the online system, sharing alink with other users of the online system, and commenting on posts madeby other users of the online system. Users and objects within the onlinesystem can represented as nodes in a social graph that are connected byedges stored in the edge store.

In one embodiment, an edge may include various features eachrepresenting characteristics of interactions between users, interactionsbetween users and object, or interactions between objects. For example,features included in an edge describe rate of interaction between twousers, how recently two users have interacted with each other, the rateor amount of information retrieved by one user about an object, or thenumber and types of comments posted by a user about an object. Thefeatures may also represent information describing a particular objector user. For example, a feature may represent the level of interest thata user has in a particular topic, the rate at which the user logs intothe online system 140, or information describing demographic informationabout a user. Each feature may be associated with a source object oruser, a target object or user, and a feature value. A feature may bespecified as an expression based on values describing the source objector user, the target object or user, or interactions between the sourceobject or user and target object or user; hence, an edge may berepresented as one or more feature expressions.

The edge store 225 also stores information about edges, such as affinityscores for objects, interests, and other users. Affinity scores, or“affinities,” may be computed by the online system 140 over time toapproximate a user's affinity for an object, interest, and other usersin the online system 140 based on the actions performed by the user. Auser's affinity may be computed by the online system 140 over time toapproximate a user's affinity for an object, interest, and other usersin the online system 140 based on the actions performed by the user.Computation of affinity is further described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/978,265, filed on Dec. 23, 2010, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/690,254, filed on Nov. 30, 2012, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/689,969, filed on Nov. 30, 2012, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/690,088, filed on Nov. 30, 2012, each of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety. Multiple interactions betweena user and a specific object may be stored as a single edge in the edgestore 225, in one embodiment. Alternatively, each interaction between auser and a specific object is stored as a separate edge. In someembodiments, connections between users may be stored in the user profilestore 205, or the user profile store 205 may access the edge store 225to determine connections between users.

The discount offer module 230 performs a variety of operations to managediscount offers. As referred to herein, a discount offer is a type ofcontent item provided by a merchant that offers the user a discount thatis valid for a limited time period. If a user makes a purchase from themerchant while the discount is valid, then the merchant applies thediscount to the user's purchase. For example, an offer may give a useran opportunity to receive a 20% discount on the purchase of a new suitat a clothing retailer if the purchase is made during a particular longweekend. The discount offer module 230 receives discount offers from oneor more merchant systems 130 and stores the discount offers as contentitems in the content store 210. When users access the online system 140,the module 230 selects discount offers to be displayed to users andsends the selected discount offers to those users for display on theusers' client devices 110.

The discount offer module 230 may provide two different types ofdiscount offers. Referring now to FIG. 2B, an example of a first type ofdiscount offer is shown. The first type of discount offer is afixed-start discount offer, which provides a discount that becomes validat a fixed start time. In one embodiment, a fixed-start discount offerincludes an offer start time and an offer end time, and the discount isvalid between the offer start time and the offer end time. For example,a fixed-start discount offer shown in FIG. 2B provides a 20% discount onmen's suits 252, and the offer states that the discount is valid from4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on the day it is being displayed 254. In anotherembodiment, a fixed-start discount offer includes an offer start timeand an offer duration, and the discount becomes valid at the offer starttime and remains valid for the offer duration. For example, afixed-start discount offer provides a discount that becomes valid at5:30 PM on a particular date and remains valid for the next two hours.In still another embodiment, a fixed-start discount offer provides adiscount that becomes valid upon the occurrence of some sort of externaltriggering event or a fixed period of time after the occurrence of atriggering event (e.g., a discount becomes valid one hour after the endof the Super Bowl) and remains valid for an offer duration. Afixed-start discount offer also includes a discount code, such as thecode 20OFFMENSSUITS 256 shown in FIG. 2B. If provided to the merchantsystem 130 while the discount is valid, the discount code causes themerchant system 130 to apply the discount to a purchase.

After a discount offer is displayed to a user, the user can interactwith the discount offer in a variety of ways. For example, the discountoffer includes a uniform resource locator (URL) for the merchant websitewhere the offer can be redeemed. Thus, if the discount offer isdisplayed to the user while the discount is valid, the user can selectthe URL (e.g., by selecting a “USE OFFER” button 258 displayed as partof the discount offer, as shown in FIG. 2B, or by selecting apromotional graphic displayed with the offer, such as the graphic of twosuits 260 shown in FIG. 2B) to easily view the merchant's website, makea purchase from the merchant, and redeem the discount. In oneembodiment, the discount offer 230 also provides users with an option tosave a discount offer for later. In the example shown in FIG. 2B, a“save for later” button 262 is displayed as part of the discount offer.If the user selects the “save offer” button, the module 230 creates anedge connecting the user's profile with the content object representingthe discount offer and stores the edge in the edge store 225. The usercan later navigate to a “saved offers” interface provided by the onlinesystem 140 to view discount offers that the user has previously saved.

In some embodiments, the discount offer module 230 sends notificationsabout discount offers upon detecting that certain events have occurred.For example, a discount offer for a purchase from a particular merchantis displayed to a user before the offer becomes valid. If the discountoffer module 230 detects that the user has viewed a web page operated bythe same merchant after the discount offer was displayed to the user,then the module 230 may send a notification about the discount offer tothe user. Sending a notification in this manner is beneficial because ithas the effect of reminding the user about the discount offer after theuser has already expressed an interest in the merchant by visiting themerchant's website. As another example, if a discount offer is firstdisplayed to a user when the user is accessing the online system 140 ona smartphone or other mobile device (i.e., a device running a mobileoperating system), the module 230 may send a notification about thediscount offer after detecting that the user has begun interacting withthe online system 140 on a conventional computer system, such as desktopor laptop computer. This is advantageous because some users may preferto conduct online commerce activities on a desktop or laptop computer(e.g., because such computers include a larger display that allows theuser to view several products at once). As still another example, theuser saves a discount offer for later, and the discount offer module 230sends the user a notification at a fixed time before the discountbecomes invalid (e.g., 30 minutes before the discount becomes invalid)to remind the user that the discount is about to expire.

Referring now to FIG. 2C, a second type of discount offer is shown. Thesecond type of discount offer is a variable-start discount offer, whichprovides a discount that becomes valid for a particular user as soon asthe discount offer is displayed to the user and that remains valid for afixed time period. A variable-start discount offer includes an offerduration. For example, the variable-start discount offer shown in FIG.2C provides a similar 20% discount off men's suits 272, but the discountshown in FIG. 2C becomes valid once it is displayed and remains validfor the following three hours. The discount offer shown in FIG. 2C wasdisplayed on the user's client device 110 at 4:36 PM, so it contains astatement 274 informing the user that it will be valid until 7:36 PM.Similar to a fixed-start discount offer, a variable-start discount offeralso includes a URL (which can be selected by selecting the “use offer”button 278 or the promotional graphic 280 displayed with the discountoffer) and a “save for later” button 282 that allows the user to savethe discount offer for later.

When the module 230 selects a variable-start discount offer to bedisplayed to a user, the module 230 records a timestamp representing thedate and time at which the discount offer becomes valid. The module 230encodes the timestamp to generate an encoded timestamp and provides theencoded timestamp for delivery to the merchant system 130 (e.g., bysending the encoded timestamp to the user, who in turn provides theencoded timestamp to the merchant system 130 when making a purchase, orby sending the encoded timestamp directly to the merchant system 130).In one embodiment, the encoded timestamp is a user-specific discountcode that has the timestamp encoded into it. For example, theuser-specific discount code 276 shown in FIG. 2C has encoded into it atimestamp indicating that the offer becomes valid at 4:36 PM on Oct. 31,2016. By encoding the timestamp into a user-specific discount code inthis manner, the merchant system 130 can determine the amount of timethat has elapsed between the timestamp and the time at which thepurchase is being made. The merchant system 130 can then compare theelapsed time to the offer duration to determine whether the purchase isbeing made while the discount is still valid.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, the web server 240 links the online system140 via the network 120 to the one or more client devices 110, as wellas to the one or more merchant systems 130. The web server 140 servesweb pages, as well as other web-related content, such as JAVA®, FLASH®,XML and so forth. The web server 240 may receive and route messagesbetween the online system 140 and the client device 110, for example,instant messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text messages, shortmessage service (SMS) messages, or messages sent using any othersuitable messaging technique. A user may send a request to the webserver 240 to upload information (e.g., images or videos) that arestored in the content store 210. Additionally, the web server 240 mayprovide application programming interface (API) functionality to senddata directly to native client device operating systems, such as IOS®,ANDROID™, WEBOS® or RIM®.

Sending Notifications of Pre-Announced Discount Offers

FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram illustrating a method for sending auser a notification of a pre-announced discount offer. In otherembodiments, the method may include different and/or additional stepsthan those shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, steps of the method may beperformed in different orders than the order described in conjunctionwith FIG. 3 in various embodiments.

As referred to herein, a pre-announced discount offer is a fixed-startdiscount offer that the discount offer module 230 begins displaying tousers of the online system 140 before the discount offer's start time.Thus, the discount offer is “pre-announced” because users are shown anoffer for a discount that is currently invalid but will become valid inthe future.

The merchant system 130 sends 302 a pre-announced discount offer to theonline system 140, and the discount offer module 230 stores thepre-announced discount offer in the content store 210. Because apre-announced discount offer is a type of fixed-start offer, thepre-announced offer includes the elements of the fixed-start discountoffer that are described above with reference to FIG. 2B. In particular,a pre-announced discount offer includes an offer start time, an offerend time (or an offer duration), and a discount code. A pre-announceddiscount offer may also include promotional graphics and text to bedisplayed with the offer, and it may further include the terms andconditions of the discount being offered, such as the amount of thediscount (e.g., a percentage or a dollar amount), the subject matter ofthe discount (e.g., the discount is for men's suits), and limitations onthe discount (e.g., the discount may not be combined with otherdiscounts or promotions).

Prior to the offer start time, the discount offer module 230 selects 304the pre-announced discount offer for display to a user. The selection304 of the pre-announced discount offer can be performed in response tothe user accessing the online system 140. For example, when the userlogs on to the online system 140 through a web browser application ordedicated application on a client device 110, the client device 110automatically requests a certain number of items to populate differentportions of the online system's user interface (e.g., a newsfeed, asidebar, etc.), and the pre-announced discount offer is selected 304 asone of the items to be displayed in the user interface.

The online system 140 sends 306 the pre-announced discount offer to theuser's client device 110, and the client device 110 displays 308 thepre-announced discount offer to the user. Because the pre-announceddiscount offer is displayed to the user before the offer start time, thediscount is not yet valid at the time the pre-announced discount offeris displayed. Thus, the user cannot yet use the discount. For example,the pre-announced discount offer is displayed without the discount code256 shown in FIG. 2B. Alternatively, the pre-announced discount offer isdisplayed with the discount code 256, but the merchant system 130 doesnot allow the discount code to be redeemed before the discount becomesvalid. As another example, the pre-announced discount offer is displayedto the user without the “use offer” button 258 shown in FIG. 2B. Inthese examples, the “save for later” button 262 may still be displayed.If the user selects the option to save 309A the pre-announced discountoffer for later, the client device 110 sends 309B a request to theonline system 140 to save the pre-announced discount offer for later. Inresponse to receiving the request, the discount offer module 230 creates309C an edge between the user's profile and the content itemrepresenting the pre-announced discount offer.

After the discount offer is displayed 308 to the user, the discountoffer module 230 can send 316 the user a notification about the offerafter the module 230 detects a triggering condition. The notificationhas the function of reminding the user about the pre-announced discountoffer. In one embodiment, the discount offer module 230 only sendsnotifications for pre-announced discount offers that the user has saved(i.e., pre-announced discount offers that are connected to the user'sprofile via an edge). In another embodiment, the discount offer module230 can send notifications for any pre-announced discount offer that haspreviously been displayed to the user, regardless of whether the usersaved the pre-announced discount offer.

Steps 310, 312, and 314 of FIG. 3 illustrate one example of a triggeringcondition. Specifically, these steps 310, 312, 314 illustrate atriggering condition that causes the discount offer module 230 to send anotification upon detecting that the user has viewed a web page providedby the merchant system. At some point after the client device 110displays 308 the discount offer to the user, the user uses the clientdevice 110 (or another client device 110 associated with the user) toview a web page provided by the merchant system 130, and this causes theclient device 110 to retrieve 310 the web page. For example, the uservisits the merchant's website to view products offered by the merchantor to view other information about the merchant.

The merchant web page is configured so that displaying the merchant webpage on a client device 110 causes the client device 110 to send 312 anindication to the online system 140 that the user has viewed themerchant web page. For example, the merchant web page contains a webbeacon or tracking pixel (also known as a page tag, pixel tag, or clearGIF) for the online system 140, and when a web browser application onthe client device 110 displays the web page, the web beacon causes theweb browser application to request data from the online system 140. Inone embodiment, the request identifies the user, which allows the onlinesystem 140 to determine that the user has viewed the merchant web page.

After the discount offer module 230 determines 314 that the discount hasbecome valid (e.g., the offer start time has passed), the module 230sends 316 a notification to the client device 110 to remind the user ofthe pre-announced discount offer, and the client device 110 displays 318the notification to the user. In one embodiment, the notificationincludes the identity of the merchant. For example, the notification mayinform the user that, “An offer from Men's Clothing Superstore is validright now!” The notification may also include other information aboutthe discount, such as the offer end time, the amount of time remainingbefore the discount becomes invalid, the amount of the discount, and thesubject matter of the discount. In still another embodiment, thenotification simply states that the user has a pre-announced discountoffer that is currently valid without any other information about thediscount.

Although the interaction diagram shown in FIG. 3 indicates that the userretrieves 312 and views the merchant web page before the discountbecomes valid 314, the timing of these two events as shown in FIG. 3 ismerely exemplary. In another embodiment, the user may additionally oralternatively view the merchant web page after the discount becomesvalid, and the discount offer module 230 may still send 316 thenotification as long as the discount is still valid at the time thenotification is sent. In still another embodiment, the discount offermodule 230 may send the notification 316 after receiving the indicationbut before determining 314 that the discount has become valid.

In some embodiments, the discount offer module 230 enforces a minimumtime delay between the time at which the online system 140 receives 312the indication that the user viewed the merchant web page and the timeat which the discount offer module 230 sends 316 the notificationreminding the user about the merchant's pre-announced discount offer.For example, the minimum time delay is 30 minutes, so the discount offermodule 230 withholds the notification for at least 30 minutes afterreceiving the indication.

Apart from the triggering condition described above, the discount offermodule 230 can additionally or alternatively send 316 a notificationafter one or more other triggering conditions have been satisfied. Insome embodiments, the module 230 defines one or more time-basedtriggering conditions. For example, the module 230 sends 316 thenotification a fixed length of time before the offer start time, afterthe offer start time, or before the offer end time. As another example,the module 230 sends 316 the notification on a weekday after normalworking hours (e.g., 9 AM to 5 PM) or on a weekend. In some embodiments,the module 230 defines one or more triggering conditions based onlocation, network connectivity, or characteristics of the client device110. For example, the module 230 sends 316 the notification afterdetermining that the user is at a particular location (e.g., a locationcorresponding to his or her place of residence), after determining thatthe user is using a client device 110 with a network connectivity speedfaster than a threshold speed or with a network connection of aparticular type (e.g., a client device connected via a Wi-Fi connectionor an LTE connection), or after determining that the user is using aclient device 110 with a display size larger than a threshold displaysize (e.g., a laptop or desktop computer rather than a mobile device) ora client device 110 with a desktop operating system (e.g., a devicerunning APPLE MACOS or MICROSOFT WINDOWS rather than APPLE IOS or GOOGLEANDROID). In various embodiments, the online system 140 provides privacysettings that allow the user to enable/disable the use of personal data(e.g., the user's location, network connectivity speed, and devicecharacteristics) for the operation of these features.

This method of providing a notification of a merchant's currently-validdiscount based on a triggering condition is advantageous because itprovides the user with a reminder of the discount under conditions thatincrease the likelihood that the user will claim the discount by makinga purchase with the merchant. First, the user has already viewed thepre-announced discount offer at least one time before the time of thenotification, so the user is already aware that the discount exists.Second, because the user has viewed the merchant's website after viewingthe pre-announced discount offer, it is likely that the user is at leastsomewhat interested in claiming the discount. Similarly, othertriggering conditions also correspond to conditions that increase thelikelihood that the user will claim the discount (e.g., sending thenotification after normal working hours, while the user is at home, orwhile the user is operating a client device with a large screen, adesktop operating system, or a fast network connection). Third, if thenotification is sent while the discount is valid, then the notificationcan inform the user that the user can claim the discount immediately.

Providing Discount Offers with Variable Start Times

FIG. 4 is an interaction diagram illustrating a method for providing avariable-start discount offer. In other embodiments, the method mayinclude different and/or additional steps than those shown in FIG. 4.Additionally, steps of the method may be performed in different ordersthan the order described in conjunction with FIG. 4 in variousembodiments.

The merchant system 130 sends 402 a variable-start discount offer to theonline system 140, and the discount offer module 230 stores thevariable-start discount offer in the content store. As noted above withreference to FIG. 2C, a variable-start discount offer includes an offerduration, and it offers the user a discount that becomes valid whendisplayed to the user and remains valid for the offer duration. Similarto a fixed-start discount offer, a variable-start discount offer mayalso include promotional graphics and text to be displayed with theoffer, and it may further include the terms and conditions of thediscount being offered, such as the amount of the discount (e.g., apercentage or a dollar amount), the subject matter of the discount(e.g., the discount is for men's suits), and limitations on the discount(e.g., the discount may not be combined with other discounts orpromotions).

The discount offer module 230 selects 404 the variable-start discountoffer for display to a user. As described above with reference to FIG.3, the selection 404 of the offer can be performed in response to theuser accessing the online system 140, which in turn causes the user'sclient device 110 to request one or more items from the online system140 to populate a user interface of the online system. The module 230may select the variable-start discount offer as one of the items.

The discount offer module 230 records 406 a timestamp representing thetime at which the variable-start discount offer is displayed to the userand encodes the recorded timestamp to generate 408 an encoded timestamp.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the module 230 records 206 thetimestamp in response to the variable-start discount offer beingselected 404 for display and before the variable-start discount offer issent 410 to the client device 110 to be displayed. In this embodiment,it is assumed that the steps of generating 408 the encoded timestamp andsending 410 the variable-start discount offer for display to the usertake a relatively small amount of time (e.g., less than a few seconds),so recording the timestamp before these steps 408, 410 are performedstill yields a sufficiently accurate representation of the time at whichthe variable-start discount offer is displayed.

The encoded timestamp has a format that is capable of being decoded bythe merchant system 130 to recreate the recorded, unencoded timestamp.In one embodiment, the encoded timestamp is a user-specific discountcode with the timestamp encoded into it. In this embodiment, theuser-specific discount code may additionally include other informationthat would otherwise be included in an ordinary discount code, such asthe amount and subject matter of the discount. An example of auser-specific discount code with a timestamp representing 4:36 PM onOct. 31, 2016 is shown in FIG. 2C. The example discount code shown inFIG. 2C is merely exemplary; in other embodiments, the timestamp isencoded into the user-specific coupon code in a manner that obscures thevalue of the timestamp, which makes it more difficult for unauthorizedthird parties to generate user-specific coupon codes in the same format.

In another embodiment, the discount offer module 230 generates theencoded timestamp by digitally signing a uniform resource locator (URL)that points to a website provided by the merchant system 130. In thisembodiment, the URL includes a digital signature that allows themerchant system 130 to verify that the URL was generated by the onlinesystem 130 and not by an unauthorized third party. The URL additionallyincludes a representation of the recorded timestamp that the merchantsystem 130 can extract from the URL.

The discount offer module 230 sends 410 both the variable-start discountoffer and the encoded timestamp to the client device 110, and the clientdevice 110 displays 412 the variable-start discount offer in a mannerthat incorporates the encoded timestamp. For example, if the encodedtimestamp is a user-specific discount code, the user-specific discountcode may be shown as part of the variable-start discount offer (as shownin the example in FIG. 2C). As another example, if the encoded timestampis a signed URL, the variable-start discount offer may be displayed sothat selecting the discount offer's promotional graphic or the “getoffer” button causes the signed URL to be opened in a web browsingwindow.

The variable-start discount offer may be displayed with a messageinforming the user that the discount is currently valid and becomesinvalid after the offer duration has elapsed. For example, thevariable-start discount offer is displayed with a message stating,“Valid only for the next three hours,” as shown in the example in FIG.2C. To further convey a sense of urgency, the variable-start discountoffer may additionally or alternatively be displayed with a countdowntimer that displays the time remaining before the discount becomesinvalid.

In another embodiment, the module 230 sends 410 the variable-startdiscount offer to the client device before recording 406 the timestampand generating 408 the encoded timestamp. In this embodiment, the clientdevice 110 displays 412 the variable-start discount offer withoutincorporating the encoded timestamp. For example, the encoded timestampis a user-specific discount code. In this example, the variable-startdiscount offer is displayed without a discount code, but the user canselect the “use offer” button to send a request to the online system 140for an encoded timestamp. In response to receiving the request, theonline system records 406 a timestamp, generates 408 an encodedtimestamp (i.e., a user-specific discount code), and sends the discountcode to the client device 110 so that the client device can display thecode as part of the offer. As another example, the encoded timestamp isa digitally signed URL. In this example, selecting the “use offer”button causes the client device 110 to send a request to the onlinesystem 140 for an encoded timestamp. In response to receiving therequest, the online system 140 performs the same steps of recording 406a timestamp, generating 408 an encoded timestamp (i.e., a digitallysigned URL), and sending the URL to the client device 110. Uponreceiving the URL, the client device 110 opens the URL in a web browsingwindow.

After the variable-start discount offer is displayed 412 to the user,the user uses the client device 110 to make a purchase 414 at themerchant system 130, and the client device 110 sends the encodedtimestamp to the merchant system 130 as part of the process for makingthe purchase 414. For example, the encoded timestamp is a user-specificdiscount code, and the user provides the discount code on a checkoutpage when making the purchase 414. As another example, the encodedtimestamp is a signed URL, and the merchant system 130 receivesinformation in the signed URL when user uses the signed URL to navigateto the merchant's website.

The merchant system 130 decodes the encoded timestamp to extract therecorded timestamp and determines whether the purchase is being made 414while the discount is valid. Specifically, the merchant system comparesthe recorded timestamp to the current time to determine how much timehas elapsed between the timestamp (which represents time the offer wasdisplayed) and the present time. Next, the merchant system compares theelapsed time to the offer duration. If the elapsed time is less than theoffer duration, then the discount is still valid, and the merchantsystem 130 applies 416 the discount to the purchase.

In an alternative embodiment, the client device 110 records thetimestamp locally and sends the recorded timestamp to the online system140 as part of a request for an encoded timestamp. In response toreceiving the request, the online system 140 generates the encodedtimestamp and sends the encoded timestamp to the client device 110. Thisembodiment is advantageous because recording the timestamp on the clientdevice 110 allows the timestamp to be recorded contemporaneously withthe display of the variable-start discount offer, which yields a moreaccurate representation of the time at which the variable-start discountoffer was displayed. In another alternative embodiment, the client 110records the timestamp and also generates the encoded timestamp. Thisreduces the communication between the client device 110 and the onlinesystem 140 and may allow for less lag between the time the timestamp isrecorded and the time the encoded timestamp is available on the clientdevice 110.

In still another alternative embodiment, the online system 140 sends theencoded timestamp directly to the merchant system 130 instead of sendingit to the client device 110. In this embodiment, the online system 140also sends an identifier for the user so that the merchant system 130can associate the encoded timestamp with the user to whom the discountoffer was displayed. For example, the online system 140 sends a hasheduser identifier to the merchant system 130.

In still another alternative embodiment, the online system 140 (or theclient device 110) records the timestamp and adds the offer duration tothe timestamp to determine an end time for the offer (i.e., the time atwhich the discount becomes invalid). In this embodiment, the offer endtime, not the recorded timestamp, is used to generate the encodedtimestamp, and the merchant system 130 determines whether the discountis valid at the time of purchase by comparing the purchase time with theoffer end time (i.e., the discount is valid if the purchase time isbefore the offer end time, and the discount is invalid if the purchasetime is after the offer end time).

In some embodiments, the discount offer module 230 provides anotification to remind the user of the variable-start discount offer ifthe discount is still valid but the user has not yet redeemed thediscount. For example, the module 230 provides a notification about thevariable-start discount offer if the user has not redeemed the discount30 minutes before the discount is set to become invalid. In embodimentswhere the discount offer module 230 provides the ability to save avariable-start discount offer for later, the discount offer module 230may provide notifications for variable-start discount offers that theuser has saved, but it does not provide notifications for othervariable-start discount offers that have been displayed to the user.

This method allows an online system to offer a discount that becomesvalid at the time it is displayed to a user, which is advantageousbecause a discount that becomes valid in this manner can convey astronger sense of urgency to the user, which in turn increases thelikelihood that the user will redeem the discount by completing apurchase at the merchant system 130 while the discount is valid.

Although this method was only described with reference to a single user,the method can be repeated for many different users of the onlinesystem. Because the method provides for a discount that becomes valid atthe time the corresponding discount offer is displayed to a particularuser, two users who are displayed the same variable-start discount offerat different times would receive discounts that become valid and invalidat different times. In other words, the same variable-start discountoffer can be displayed 412 to a second user at a different time, whichcauses the online system to record 406 a different timestamp andgenerate 408 a different encoded timestamp.

The methods shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 were described with reference to adiscount offer that provides a discount for an online purchase. However,in alternative embodiments, the same methods may also be applied todiscount offers that provide a discount for in-person purchases atbrick-and-mortar stores. In one embodiment, the merchant system 130includes a server that communicates over the network 120 with the onlinesystem 140 and further includes a network of point-of-sale (POS) systemsat one or more brick-and-mortar stores operated by the merchant. In thisembodiment, the server sends 302, 402 the discount offer to the onlinesystem 140, and one of the POS systems processes the user's purchase anddetermines whether a discount should be applied. In addition, thediscount code in this embodiment may be a bar code that can be displayedon the screen and scanned by one of the POS systems or a data item thatthe client device 110 can send to one of the POS systems via acommunication technology such as near-field communication (NFC).

Pre-announced discount offers for brick-and-mortar stores may be subjectto different location-based triggering conditions. In one embodiment,the discount offer module 230 sends 316 a notification about amerchant's pre-announced discount offer to the user if the online system140 determines that the user is currently near a location correspondingto a brick-and-mortar store operated by the merchant (e.g., the distancebetween the user's location and the store's location is less than athreshold distance; the user's location is within a predefined geo-fencesurrounding the store's location). For example, a pre-announced discountoffer for a discount at BROOKS BROTHERS is displayed to a user, and themodule 230 sends the user a notification about the pre-announceddiscount offer as the user is walking through a shopping mall containinga BROOKS BROTHERS store.

Variable-start discount offers for brick-and mortar stores may selected404 and sent 410 in embodiments where the online system 140 candetermine the location of the user when selecting 404 the variable-startdiscount offer along with other content items to display to the user. Inone embodiment, the online system 140 determines, while selectingcontent items for display to the user (e.g., when populating the user'snewsfeed), that the user is close to a brick-and-mortar store operatedby merchant that has provided a variable-start discount offer (e.g., thedistance between the user's location and the store's location is lessthan a threshold distance; the user's location is within a predefinedgeo-fence surrounding the store's location). Upon determining that theuser is near the store, the discount offer module 230 selects 404 thevariable start discount offer, records 406 a timestamp, generates 408 anencoded timestamp, and sends 410 the variable-start discount offer andthe encoded timestamp 410 to the user's client device 110. In thisembodiment, the encoded timestamp 410 may be a barcode or data item withthe recorded timestamp encoded into it, and the POS system that scansthe barcode or receives the data item extracts the recorded timestampand determines whether the variable-start discount offer is still validat the time the purchase is made. For example, suppose a user accessesthe online system 140 on a smartphone while he or she is in a shoppingmall containing a BROOKS BROTHERS store, and the user has adjusted hisor her privacy settings in a manner that allows the online system 140 todetermine the user's location when the user accesses the online system140 (e.g., via a location sensor such as a GPS receiver on thesmartphone). In this example, the discount offer module 230 may select404 and send 410 a variable-start discount offer for BROOKS BROTHERS fordisplay to the user as part of the user's newsfeed. In addition to theother elements shown in the example in FIG. 2C, the variable-startdiscount offer also may be displayed with a map or description of thelocation of the BROOKS BROTHERS store within the shopping mall.

CONCLUSION

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a pre-announceddiscount offer at an online system, the pre-announced discount offercomprising an offer for a discount on a purchase at a merchant systemand an offer start time specifying a time at which the discount becomesvalid; before the offer start time, sending the pre-announced discountoffer for display to a user of the online system; receiving anindication from a client device associated with the user that the clientdevice has accessed a merchant web page provided by the merchant system;and after receiving the indication and while the discount is valid,sending a notification to the user, the notification comprisinginformation about the pre-announced discount offer.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the merchant web page contains a tracking pixel for theonline system, and wherein receiving the indication from the clientdevice comprises receiving a request from the client device for dataprovided by the online system, the request sent by the client deviceresponsive to the client device displaying the tracking pixel.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the indication that the client device hasaccessed the merchant web page is received before the offer start time.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication that the client devicehas accessed the merchant web page is received after the offer starttime.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-announced discount offerfurther comprises an offer end time specifying a time at which thediscount becomes invalid.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thepre-announced discount offer further comprises an offer durationspecifying a length of a time period after the offer start time duringwhich the discount is valid.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising withholding the notification during a delay period, the delayperiod starting when the online system receives the indication that theclient device has accessed the merchant web page.
 8. The method of claim1, further comprising: after sending the pre-announced discount offerfor display to the user, receiving, from the user, a request to save thepre-announced discount offer; responsive to receiving the request tosave the pre-announced discount offer for later, creating a connectionbetween the pre-announced discount offer and a user profile associatedwith the user.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending thenotification to the user comprises: sending the notification to a clientdevice associated with the user, the client device running a desktopoperating system.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein sending thenotification to the user comprises: determining a location of the user;sending the notification to a client device associated with the whilethe user is at a location corresponding to the user's place ofresidence.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the notificationto the user comprises: determining a network connectivity speed of aclient device associated with the user; sending the notification to theclient device while the network connectivity speed is faster than athreshold speed.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the notificationcomprises an amount of time remaining before the discount becomesinvalid.
 13. A computer program product comprising a computer-readablestorage medium containing computer program code for: receiving apre-announced discount offer at an online system, the pre-announceddiscount offer comprising an offer for a discount on a purchase at amerchant system and an offer start time specifying a time at which thediscount becomes valid; before the offer start time, sending thepre-announced discount offer for display to a user of the online system;receiving an indication from a client device associated with the userthat the client device has accessed a merchant web page provided by themerchant system; and after receiving the indication and while thediscount is valid, sending a notification to the user, the notificationcomprising information about the pre-announced discount offer.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, wherein the merchant web pagecontains a tracking pixel for the online system, and wherein receivingthe indication from the client device comprises receiving a request fromthe client device for data provided by the online system, the requestsent by the client device responsive to the client device displaying thetracking pixel.
 15. The computer program product of claim 13, furthercomprising withholding the notification during a delay period, the delayperiod starting when the online system receives the indication that theclient device has accessed the merchant web page.
 16. The computerprogram product of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable storagemedium further contains computer program code for: after sending thepre-announced discount offer for display to the user, receiving, fromthe user, a request to save the pre-announced discount offer; responsiveto receiving the request to save the pre-announced discount offer forlater, creating a connection between the pre-announced discount offerand a user profile associated with the user.
 17. The computer programproduct of claim 13, wherein sending the notification to the usercomprises: sending the notification to a client device associated withthe user, the client device running a desktop operating system.
 18. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, wherein sending the notificationto the user comprises: determining a location of the user; sending thenotification to a client device associated with the while the user is ata location corresponding to the user's place of residence.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, wherein sending the notificationto the user comprises: determining a network connectivity speed of aclient device associated with the user; sending the notification to theclient device while the network connectivity speed is faster than athreshold speed.
 20. A method comprising: receiving a pre-announceddiscount offer at an online system, the pre-announced discount offercomprising an offer for a discount on a purchase at a merchant systemand an offer start time specifying a time at which the discount becomesvalid; before the offer start time, sending the pre-announced discountoffer for display to a user of the online system; receiving, from aclient device associated with the user, a request to save thepre-announced discount offer; creating a connection between thepre-announced discount offer and a user profile associated with theuser; and while the discount is valid, sending a notification to theuser, the notification comprising information about the pre-announceddiscount offer.